Recently purchased a 1997 2-door Z-71 Tahoe and had some front end work done. Reasons.....sloppy steering, out of alighnment, and sensed a slight jerk both in the right and left directions. Took to a shop and they replaced idler arm and tie rods prior to attempting alignment. Picked up the truck today and much improvement overall, but still sense the slight jerk at the 10 and 2 positions. Not too bad to the point of out of control while driving, but annoying. 125,000 miles in good shape and for my girlfriend to drive.

Is their something up under the dash around the column that nay affect this? I do hear a slight friction sound in turning the wheel.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

When you start the truck does the wheel move?

 

If the steering is locked and turn the key there is a slight movement from the release. When the engine cranks, an extremely slight tick to the left, but seems result of the movement in the overall vehicle during start-up.

 

I would suspect your problem is in the steering box.

 

Pricey.....don't hear a lot of issues with the steering gear. Just wanted to check as there are alot of moving parts discussed here. Thanks for your help.

 

If all other componets in steering are tight (tie rods.idler arm and pitman arm) there is nothing left that can cause the play in the steering. Also one test for a bad steering rack and box is to see if wheel jerks/moves when engine starts. This indicates a bad flow vavle internally. At my shop we see bad boxes often especially in older vehicles. You could jack the front end up so both wheels are of the ground. Have someone shake one of the wheels side to side and watch to see if the shaft wher the pitman are is attaches moves. It should not move at all. You should be able to get a remanufactured box for around $200.00 from a local parts store

 

Something else to consider is the speed sense for the steering, sensor. It will feel like the wheel is really easy to turn at times. You will feel normal resistance and they suddenly it gets really easy for a few seconds.